Integrated circuits are an important element of electronic devices. Many integrated circuits are programmed to store data which is necessary for the operation of the integrated circuit. Integrated circuits in a system may receive data from another integrated circuit. In some cases, data stored or used by an integrated circuit may be sensitive data. For example, it is important that data related to military, medical, financial, or other applications processing sensitive data be properly retained. In addition to preventing an adverse third party from accessing the data, it may also be helpful to prevent the data from being altered to cause the integrated circuit or system to operate differently. Significant measures may be taken to protect such sensitive data to ensure that the data is not accessed or altered.
However, adverse third parties may attempt to modify the means implemented to protect the sensitive data. By modifying the means implemented to protect the sensitive data, an adverse third party may access the sensitive data. That is, while conventional circuits may be implemented to protect sensitive data, those circuits may be altered or tampered with, thereby enabling access to the sensitive data. Accordingly, there is a need for a circuit or method which prevents access to sensitive data by preventing alteration of the means implemented to protect the sensitive data.